Forty-First Congress.

[xotrevor]

CHAP. CXIV.-
An Act to enforce the right of Citizens of the
United States to vote in several States of this Union, and for
other Purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That all citizens of the United States who are or
shall be otherwise qualified by law to vote at any election by
the people in any State, Territory, district, county, city, parish,
township, school district, municipality, or other territorial
subdivision, shall be entitled and allowed to vote at all such
elections, without distinction of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude; any constitution, law, custom, usage,
or regulation of any State or Territory, or by or under its
authority, to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if by or under
the authority of the constitution or laws or any State, or the
laws of any Territory, any act is or shall be required to be
done as a prerequisite or qualification for voting, and by such
constitution or laws persons or officers are or shall be
charged with the performance of duties in furnishing to
citizens an opportunity to perform such prerequisite, or to
become qualified to vote, it shall be the duty of every such
person and officer to give to all citizens of the United States
the same and equal opportunity to perform such prerequisite,
and to become qualified to vote without distinction of penalty
for race, color, or previous condition or servitude; and if any
such person or officer shall refuse or knowingly omit to give
full effect to this section, he shall, for every such offence,
forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars to the person
aggrieved thereby, to be recovered by an action on the case,
with full costs, and such allowance for counsel fees as the
court shall deem just, and shall also, for every such offence,
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction
thereof be fined not less than five hundred dollars, or be
imprisoned not less than one month and not more than one
year, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 3. And it be further enacted, That whenever, by
or under the authority of the constitution of any State, or the
laws of any territory, any act is or shall be required to [be]
done by any citizen as a prerequisite to qualify or entitle him
to vote, the offer of any such citizen to perform the act
required to be done as aforesaid shall, if it and fail to be
carried into execution by reason of the wrongful act or
omission aforesaid of the person or officer charged with the
duty of receiving or permitting such performance or offer to
perform, or acting thereon, be deemed and held as a
performance in law of such act; and the person so offering
and failing as aforesaid, and being otherwise qualified, shall
be entitled to vote in the same manner and to the same extent
as if he had in fact performed such act; and any judge,
inspector, or other officer of election whose duty it is or shall
be to receive, count, certify, register, report, or give effect to
the vote of any such citizen who shall wrongfully refuse or
omit to receive, count, certify, register, report, or give effect
to the vote of such citizen upon the presentation by him of
his affidavit stating such offer and the time and place thereof,
and the name of the officer or person whose duty it was act to
act thereon, and that he was wrongfully prevented by such
person or officer from performing such act, shall for every
such offence forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars
to the person aggrieved thereby, to be recovered by an action
on the case, with full costs, and such allowance for counsel
fees as the court shall deem just, and shall also for every such
offence be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction
thereof, be fined not less than five hundred dollars, or be
imprisoned not less than one month and not more than one
year, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 4. And it be further enacted, That if any person,
by force, bribery, threats, intimidation, or other unlawful
means, shall hinder, delay, prevent, or obstruct or shall
combine and confederate with others to hinder, delay,
prevent, or obstruct, any citizen from doing any act required
to be done to qualify him to vote or from voting at any
election as aforesaid, such person shall for every such
offence forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars to the
person aggrieved thereby, to be recovered by an action on the
case, with full costs, and such allowance for counsel fees as
the court shall deem just, and shall also for every such
offence be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction
thereof, be fined not less than five hundred dollars, or be
imprisoned not less than one month and not more than one
year, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That if any person
shall prevent, hinder, control, or intimidate, or shall attempt to
prevent, hinder, control, or intimidate, any person from
exercising or in exercising the right of suffrage, to whom the
right of suffrage is secured or guaranteed by the fifteenth
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, by means
of bribery, threats, or threats of depriving such person of
employment. or occupation, or of ejecting such person from
rented house, lands, or other property, or by threats or
refusing to renew leases or contracts for labor, or by threats of
violence to himself or family, such person so offending shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction
thereof, be fined not less than five hundred dollars, or be
imprisoned not less than.one month and not more than one
year, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That if two or more
persons shall for two or more persons band or conspire
together, or go in disguise upon the public highway, or upon
the premises of another, with intent to violate any provision of
this act, or to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any
citizen with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise and
enjoyment of any right or privilege granted or secured to him
by the Constitu1ion or laws of the United States or because
of his having exercised the same, such persons shall be held
guilty of felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined or
imprisoned, or both, at the discretion of the court,- the fine not
to exceed five thousand dollars, and the imprisonment not to
exceed ten years -and shall, moreover, be thereafter ineligible
to, and disabled from holding, any office or place of honor,
profit, or trust created by the Constitution or Jaws of the
United States.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That if in the act of
violating any provision in either of the two preceding
sections, any other felony, crime, or misdemeanor shall be
committed, the offender, on conviction of such or violation of
said sections, shall be punished for the same with such
punishments as are attached to the said felonies, crimes, and
misdemeanors by the laws of the Slate in which the offence
may be committed.

SEC. 8. And it be further enacted, That the district courts or
the United States, within their respective districts, shall have,
exclusively of the courts of the several States, cognizance of
all Crimes and offenses committed against the provisions of
this act, and also, concurrent with the circuit courts of the
United States, of all causes, civil and criminal, arising under
this act, except as herein otherwise provided, and the
jurisdiction hereby conferred shall be exercised in conformity
with the laws and practice governing United States courts ;
and all crimes and offenses committed against the
provisions of this act may be prosecuted by the indictment
of a grand jury, or, in cases of crimes and offences not
infamous, the prosecution may be either by indictment or
information filed by the district attorney in a court
jurisdiction.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the district attorneys,
marshals, and deputy marshals of the United States, the
commissioners appointed by the circuit and territorial courts
of the United States, with powers of arresting, imprisoning, or
bailing offenders against the laws of the United States; and
every other officer who may be specially empowered by the
President of the United States, shall be, and they are hereby,
specially authorized and required, at the expense of the United
States, to institute proceedings against all and every person
who shall violate the provisions of this act, and cause him or
them to be arrested and imprisoned, or bailed, as the case may
before trial before such court of the United States or territorial
court has cognizance of the offense. And with a view to
afford reasonable protection to all persons in their
constitutional right to vote without distinction of race, color,
or previous condition of servitude, and to the prompt
discharge of the duties of this act, it shall so be the duty of the
circuit courts of the United States, and the superior courts of
the Territories of the United States, from time to time, to
increase the number of commissioners, so as to afford speedy
and convenient means for the arrest and examination of
persons charged with a violation of this act; and such
commissioners are hereby authorized and required to exercise
and discharge all the powers and duties conferred on them
by this act, and the same duties with regard to offences
created by this act as they are authorized with regard offences
against the laws of the United States.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the
duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute
all warrants and precepts issued under the provision of this
act, when to them directed; and should any marshal or deputy
marshal refuse to receive such warrant or other process when
tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the
same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of
one thousand dollar to the use of the person deprived of
the rights conferred by this act. And the better to enable the
said commissioners to execute their duties faithfully and
efficiently, in conformity with the Constitution of the United
States and the requirements of this act, they are hereby
authorized and empowered, within their districts respectively,
to appoint in writing, under their hands, any one or more
suitable persons, from time to time, to excited all such
warrants and process as may be issued by them in the lawful
duties, and the persons so appointed to execute any warrant or
process aforesaid shall have authority to summon and call to
their aid the bystanders or posse comitatus of the proper
county, or such portion of the land or naval forces of the
United States, or of the militia, as may be necessary to the
performance, of the duty with which they are charged, and to
insure a faithful observance of the fifteenth amendment to
the Constitution of the United States; and such warrants shall
run and be executed by said officers anywhere in the State or
Territory within which they are issued.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That any person
who shall knowingly and willfully obstruct, hinder, or prevent
any officer or other person charged with the execution of
warrant or process issued under the provisions of this act, or
any person or persons lawfully assisting him or them from
arresting any person for whose apprehension such warrant
or process may have been issued or shall rescue or attempt to
rescue such person from the custody of the officer or other
person or persons, or for rescuing or those lawfully assisting
as aforesaid, when so arrested pursuant to the authority
herein given and declared, or shall aid, abet, or assist any
person so arrest son arrested as aforesaid, directly or
indirectly, to escape from the custody of the officer or
other person legally authorized as aforesaid, or knowingly
shall harbor or conceal any person for whose arrest a warrant
or process has been issued as aforesaid, as to prevent his
discovery and arrest after notice or knowledge of the fact that
a warrant has been issued for the apprehension of such
person, shall, for either of said offenses, be subject to a fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not
exceeding six months, or both, at the discretion of the court,
on conviction before the district or circuit court of the United
States for the district or circuit in which said offence may
have been committed, or before the proper court of criminal
jurisdiction, if committed within any one of the organized
Territories of the United States.

SEC.12. And it be further enacted, That the commissioners,
district attorneys, the marshals, their deputies, and the
clerks of the said district, circuit, and territorial courts shall
be paid for their services the like fees as may be allowed to
them for similar services in other cases. The person or
persons authorized to execute the process to be issued by
such commissioners for the arrest of offenders against the
provisions of this act shall be entitled to the usual fees
allowed to the marshal for an arrest for each person he or
they may arrest and take before any such commissioner as
aforesaid, with such other fees as may be deemed
reasonable by such commissioner for such other additional
services as may be necessarily performed by him or them,
such as attending at the examination, keeping the prisoner
in custody, and providing him with food and lodging during
his detention and until the final determination of such
commissioner, and in general for performing such other
duties as may be required in the premises; such fees to be
made up in conformity with the fees usually charged by
the officers of the courts of justice within the proper
district or county as near as may be practicable, and paid
out the treasury of the United States on the certificate of
the judge of the district within which the arrest is made,
and to be recoverable from the defendant as part of the
judgment in case of conviction.

SEC. 13. And it be further enacted, That it shall be lawful
for the President of the United States to employ such part
of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the
militia, as shall be necessary to aid in the execution of
judicial process under this act.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That whenever any
person shall hold office, except as a member of Congress or
of some State legislature, contrary to the provisions of the
third section of the fourteenth article of amendment of the
Constitution of the United States, it shall be the duty of the
district attorney of the United States for the district in which
person shall hold office, as aforesaid, to proceed against
such person, by writ of quo warranto, returnable to the
circuit or district court of the United States in such
district, and to prosecute the same to the removal of such
person from office; and any writ of quo warranto so
brought, as aforesaid, shall take precedence of all other
cases on the docket of the court to which it is made
returnable, and shall not be continued unless for cause
proved to the satisfaction of the court.

SEC. 15. .And be it further enacted, That any person who
shall hereafter knowingly accept or hold any office under
the United States, or any State to which he is ineligible
under the third section of the fourteenth articles of
amendment of the Constitution of the United States, or who
shall attempt to hold or exercise the duties of any such
office, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor against the
United States, and, upon conviction thereof before the
circuit or district court of the United States, shall be
imprisoned not more than one year, or fined not exceeding
one thousand dollars, or both, at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 16. .And be it further enacted, That all persons within
the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same
right in every State and Territory in the United States to
make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give
evidence, and to the full and equal benefits of all laws and
proceedings for the security of person and property as is
enjoyed by white citizens and shall be subject to like
punishment, pains, penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions
of every kind, and none other, any law, statute,
ordinance, regulation, or custom to the contrary
notwithstanding. No tax or charge shall be imposed or
enforced by any State upon any person immigrating
thereto from a foreign country which is not equally imposed
and enforced upon every person immigrating to such State
from any other foreign country; and any law of any State in
conflict with this provision is hereby declared null and void.

SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That any person who.
under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or
custom, shall subject, or cause to be subjected, any
inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation of any
right secured or protected by the preceding section of this
act, or to different punishment, pain, or penalties on account
of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color or
race, than is prescribed for the punishment of citizens,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on
conviction, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year,
or both, in the discretion of the court.

SEC. 18. And it be further enacted, That to protect all
persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish
the means of their vindication, passed April nine, eighteen
hundred and sixty-six, is hereby re-enacted; and sections
sixteen and seventeen hereof shall be enforced according
to the provisions of said act.

SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That if at any election
for representative or delegate in the Congress of the United
States any person shall knowingly personate and vote, or
attempt to vote, in the name of any other person, whether
living, dead, or fictitious; or vote more than once at the
same election for any candidate for the same office; or vote
at a place where he may not be lawfully entitled to vote ; or
vote without having a lawful right to vote ; or do any
unlawful act to secure a right or an opportunity to vote for
himself or any other person; or by force, threat, menace,
intimidation, bribery, reward, or offer, or promise thereof,
or otherwise unlawfully prevent any qualified voter of
any State of the United States of America, or in any
Territory thereof, from freely exercising the right of
suffrage, or by any such means induce any voter to refuse to
exercise such right ; or compel or induce by any such
means or otherwise, any officer of an election in any such
State or Territory to receive a vote from a person not legally
qualified or entitled to vote ; or interfere in any manner
with any officer of said elections in the discharge of his
duties; or by any of such means, or other unlawful means,
or induce any officer of an election, or officer whose duty
it is to ascertain, announce, or declare the result of any
such election, or give or make any certificate, document, or
evidence in relation thereto, to violate or refuse to comply
with his duty, or any law regulating the same; or knowingly
and willfully receive the vote of any person not entitled to
vote, or refuse to receive the vote of any person entitled to
vote; or aid, counsel, procure, or advise any such voter,
person, or officer to do any such act hereby made a crime,
or to omit to do any duty the omission of which is hereby
made a crime, or attempt to do so, every such person shall
be deemed guilty of a crime, and shall for such be liable to
prosecution in any court of the United States of competent
jurisdiction, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished
by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by
imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both,
in the discretion of the court, and shall pay the costs of
prosecution.

SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That if; at any
registration for an election for representative or delegate
in the Congress of the United States, any person shall
knowingly personate and register or attempt to register, in
the name of any other person, whether living, dead, or
fictitious, or fraudulently register, or fraudulently attempt
to register, not having a lawful right so to do; or do any
unlawful act to secure registration for himself or any other
person; or by force, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery,
reward, or offer, or promise thereof, or other unlawful
means, prevent or hinder any person having lawful right to
register from duly exercising such right; or compel or
induce, by any of such means, or other unlawful means, any
officer of registration to admit to registration any person not
legally entitled thereto, or interfere in any manner with any
officer of registration in the discharge of his duties, or by
any such means, or other unlawful means, induce any
officer of registration to violate or refuse to comply with his
duty, or any law regulating the same; or knowingly and
willfully receive the vote of any person not entitled to vote,
or refuse to receive the vote of any person entitled to vote,
or aid, counsel, procure, or advise any such voter, person,
or officer to do any act hereby made a crime, or to omit
any act, omission of which is hereby made a crime, every
such person shall be deemed guilty of a crime, and shall be
liable to prosecution and punishment therefore, as
provided in section nineteen of this act for persons
guilty of any of the crimes therein specified: Provided That
every registration made under the laws of any State or
Territory, for any State or deemed a other election at which
such representative or delegate in Congress shall be chosen,
shall be deemed to be a registration within the meaning of
this act, notwithstanding, the same shall also be made for
the purposes of any State, territorial, or municipal election.

SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That whenever, by the
laws of any Stare or Territory, the name of any candidate or
person to be voted for as representative or delegate in
Congress shall be required to be printed, written, or
contained in any ticket or ballot with other candidates or
persons to be voted for at the same election for State,
territorial, municipal, or local officers, it shall be sufficient
prima facie evidence, either for the purpose of indicting or
convicting any person charged with voting, or attempting
or offering to vote, unlawfully under the provisions of the
preceding sections, or for committing either of the offenses
thereby created, to prove that the person so charged or
indicted, voted, or attempted or offered to vote, such ballot
or ticket, or committed either of the offenses named in the
preceding sections of this act with reference to such ballot.
And the proof and establishment of such facts shall be
taken, held, and deemed to be presumptive evidence that
such person voted, or attempted or offered to vote, for such
representative or delegate, as the case may be, or that such
offense was omitted with reference to the election of such
representative or delegate, and shall be sufficient to warrant
his conviction, unless it shall be shown that any such ballot,
when cast, or attempted or offered to be cast, by him, did
not contain the name of any candidate for the office of
representative or delegate in the Congress of the United
States, or that such offense was not committed with
reference to the election of such representative or delegate.

SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That any officer of
election at which any representative or delegate in the
Congress of the United States shall be voted for, whether
such officer of election be appointed or created by or under
any law or authority of the United States, or by or under
any State, territorial, district, or municipal law or authority,
who shall neglect or refuse to perform any duty in regard to
such election required of him by any law of the United
States, or of any State or Territory thereof; or violate any
duty so imposed, or knowingly do any act thereby
unauthorized, with intent to affect any such election, or the
result thereof; or fraudulently make any certificate of the
result of such election in regard to such representative or
delegate; or withhold, conceal, or destroy any certificate of
record so required by law respecting, concerning, or
pertaining to the election of any such representative or
delegate; or neglect or refuse to make and return the same
as so required by law; or aid, counsel, procure, or advise
any voter, person, or officer to do any act by this or any of
the preceding sections made a crime; or to omit to do any
duty the omission of which is by this or any of said sections
made a crime, or attempt to do so, shall be deemed guilty
of a crime and shall be liable to prosecution and punishment
therefor, aa provided in the nineteenth section of this act for
persons guilty of any of the crimes therein specified.

SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That whenever any
person shall be defeated or deprived of his election to any
office, except elector of President or Vice-President,
representative or delegate in Congress, or member of a
State legislature, by reason of the denial to any citizen or
citizens who shall offer to vote, of the right to vote, on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,
his right to hold and enjoy such office, and the emoluments
thereof, shall not impaired by such denial; and such office;
in cases where it shall appear that the sole question
touching the title to such office arises out of the denial of
the right to vote to citizens who so offered to vote, on
account of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude,
such suit or proceeding may be instituted in the circuit or
district court of the United States of the circuit or district in
which such person resides. And said circuit or district court
shall have, concurrently with the State courts, jurisdiction
thereof so far as to determine the rights of the parties to
such office by reason or the denial of the right guaranteed
by the fifteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of
the United State, and secured by this act.

APPROVED, May 81, 1870.